Prime
Government asks coffee farmers to form group
A farmer looking at coffee seedlings in a nursery. FILE PHOTO
In order, to achieve target of the 20 million bags by 2020, the government has started mobilising coffee farmers across the country into groups to increase production.
“I have instructed district local leaders to start organising coffee farmers into groups for increased coffee production,” said Vincent Ssempijja, the minister for Agriculture.
This was during celebrations to mark the International Coffee Day, at St Lawrence Horizon Campus, in Wakiso District last week.
He noted that, if 500 coffee growers, with 100 acres of coffee, come together, the country would collect more than four million bags of coffee per group.
Currently, Uganda earns Sh1.3 trillion from the 240 million kilogrammes that are produced in the country.
Rising global demand
Uganda, which is the world’s eighth exporter of Robusta and Arabic coffee, has 1.5 million households, engaged in coffee production.
The government, through the UCDA, plans to distribute 900 million seedlings to farmers over the next three years to boost production.
Statistics by Uganda Coffee Federation (UCF) show the country would produce up to 1.2 billion kilogrammes of coffee over the next two years.
According to Mr Ssempijja, the international demand for coffee has risen, which is good news for Ugandan coffee farmers.
“My fellow farmers, I would implore you to take advantage of the coffee market as there is a lot of wealth in coffee farming,” he said.
Interest the youth
In his remarks, the Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, who was represented by the Agriculture minister, said it is through coffee production that Ugandans will fight unemployment and poverty especially among the youth.
“The production of coffee has been and will continue to be the backbone of Uganda’s economy. Globally, there is growing demand for coffee,” Rugunda stated.
On his part, the UCF board chairman Fred Luzindana noted that to increase production, the Federation would have to interest the youth.
He blamed the low production of coffee, to lack of coffee farming groups for skills and market opportunities.
Cooperation
Perez Bukumunhe, the UCDA board chairman added, “We need the cooperation of stakeholders to achieve the 20 million coffee bags target by 2020.”
This year’s International Coffee Day celebrations was organised by UCF and UCDA under the theme; “Underscoring stakeholder’s roles in achieving Uganda’s coffee Vision 2020”.
The theme was also the focus of a presentation by Morrison Rwakakamba, a special presidential assistant, who was the day’s keynote speaker.
As part of the the celebrations, UCF organised a cfootball tournament, where a team organised by Ugacof, a coffee and cocoa exporter, emerged the winners.
